What's in a Name?

What’s in a name? Well, for our girls there is quite a lot of meaning and intent behind their names. They were chosen with incredible love in our hearts, honour for our loved ones and a reverence for God who has blessed us with these two beautiful babes!

L I L L Y Elizabeth Dawn

Lilly: Loveliness & Purity

Elizabeth: Pledged from God

Dawn: One Who Shines

Our first girl, the loveliest little one, Lilly. Loveliness very aptly describes her. She is pure joy, love, kindness and compassion. Lily is a name I have loved for years. I have taught many sweet girls named Lily (spelled in some variation) and it had been on my mental list of baby names for quite some time.

When we officially picked the name, my husband wanted a double 'L' for her. It's unique, like her. I like that. My husband also has a double letter and he felt connected to her name-wise in that way.

Lily of the Valley would be the flower she is named after — tiny delicate, white, pure, lovely and frilly little bells. Just a humble beauty and one of my favourites.

When it came to her middle name we knew there would be two! I have a double middle name and it was important for me to pass that along to my children because it is not so common and also a sweet little piece of me that I hope will continue on for generations to come.

We started with Elizabeth because it is a prevalent and prominent name on both sides of our family. Not to mention it means Pledged from God. Lilly's conception was an absolute blessing from above and God had told me she would be a special gift and those of you who know her, know she is truly a gift. She is a gift on this earth and an incredible little faith warrior already!

Next, we chose Dawn because it is one of my two middle names as well as my mother's middle name. So for our first born daughter, it seemed fitting to keep that middle name in the lineage. Lilly also brightens every single place she is in, she brings radiance to every single day, much like the dawn does each morning. She is the one who shines, so so bright.

We named Lilly as soon as we knew she was a girl after our 20 week ultrasound. Her name is the perfect fit for her and we knew it would be. When we picked her name and said it all out loud together, Lilly Elizabeth Dawn just felt right and settled into our hearts with a resounding 'yes’. So after finding out that our second baby was also a precious girl at our 20 week scan, we had some name picking to do! We didn’t really have anything on our mental lists of names but again, as soon as Kevynn said her name out loud, I felt it settle deeply and warmly into my heart. It was another resounding ‘yes’.

E M M E Marlene May

Emme: Energetic & Diligent

Marlene: Star of the Sea, Beloved & Exalted

May: Drop of the Sea, Beloved

There is no doubt this little girl is beloved! We all have such a love in our hearts for her already and eagerly await her arrival!

We had sat down to discuss and brainstorm some potential names one night. I had no intention of actually choosing a name for her but when Kevynn suggested Emme (pronounced Emmie), it was like the whole room shifted. It was the one. I said to him, “Yes, that’s it!” And then it was done. Simple as that. When you know, you know, right?

We’ve inadvertently carried on the double letter with Emme and the ‘m’. I am now the only one in the family without a double letter in their name… haha I’ll try not to feel too excluded from the cool double letter club.

I love that Emme means energetic and diligent— I can already tell this girl is full of energy! She moves so much — way more than Lilly ever did! Her diligence in engaging in my pelvis already quite consistently tells me this girl means business! Already, this name seems to be a perfect fit!

We had a whole list of options for her double middle name — we love to honour our families, God and bring that sense of belonging to our girls… and Marlene May was the one that we both loved most.

Marlene is my mother-in-law’s middle name. It felt special to us to be able to use her middle name and honour her with this baby. We used my mom’s middle name with Lilly and so it was the natural choice to use Kevynn’s mom’s middle name with Emme. It’s also quite pretty and not very common, much like the name Emme. I also absolutely love that it is derived from both Mary and Magdalene, biblically. Two incredible women of the Bible and in Jesus’ story. Emme's going to be a powerful woman of God!

With May, it was a simple and sweet connection to my side of the family through my grandmother. Her aunt’s middle name was May. My maternal side of the family has some really lovely given names. May also is my mom’s birth month, which is another nice connection.

Seemingly, Emme will be a little fish with all these ties to the sea in her name! Ironically, I had no idea both middle names had a connection to water, or that they both meant ‘beloved’ until after I looked them both up, but it just makes it all the more sweet and affirming that this is the right name. Not to mention that Emme is already a little fish in the womb. I could feel her movements so early on and in every ultrasound she is quite literally swimming around and just the happiest little clam. She waves, she turns, she rolls, she kicks... she's an energetic little one. Time will tell if the water will play a role in her world as she grows but either way she is so so absolutely loved by God and by us!

Growing up, I sincerely loved knowing what my names meant and where they came from. I felt a sense of belonging to my family, my lineage/heritage, and just an overall sense of connectedness and importance. I pray that Lilly and Emme will feel similarly when they learn what’s in their names!

Thanks for reading you guys!

-Ashley

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